I guess God made Boston on a wet Sunday. ~ Raymond Chandler
If you've stopped by at all in May, you'll know I've been offline. It was time for me to go visit my baby girl in Boston, her home since September 2007.
Although a born East Coaster, I had never spent any time in Boston before this. Driven through it at top speed (and is there any other kind in Boston?), yes. Wandered through Logan Airport, yes. But stopped to smell the tulips in this lovely town? No, not until this past weekend.
It is a fascinating place, Boston. Lots of brick, cobblestone, statues, and history. I think every American should spent a couple of days exploring Boston. Lace up your hiking boots and go walking--there's too much to miss if you drive. If ever a city was built for walking, it's Boston. The roots of the U.S.A. run deep around you as you travel the Freedom Trail, the old blending carelessly with the new.
That famous architectural wonder,Trinity Church, has as a next-door-neighbor a glass office building soaring into the sky. Paul Revere's house nestles between newer (though still old) brick houses and shops. The memorial to the 54th Regiment, of "Glory" movie fame, stands watch over a busy street corner. And the Public Gardens and the Boston Common , two of the oldest public parks in the country, are bursting with the blossoms of springtime right now.
It was damp and cloudy, with copious sprinkles of misty rain the entire time I was there, but the weather was of no importance to me. I wanted to see my much-missed daughter, to know that she has settled into her new hometown and is enjoying her new life. We both also wanted to have some fun together, and did we ever. Besides shepherding me along the Freedom Trail and a tour of Trinity Church, she took me to the Red Sox game on Saturday night. The Sox won, saints be praised...you can't help but root for them while in Boston. It's almost like mind control.
Being from New York originally, I thought I understood sports fans. I didn't. Boston takes sports mania to a whole new level, kind of like a crazed cult religion that everyone follows. It's hard to describe if you haven't been there, which is another reason everyone should visit. You can then see for yourself the sea of Red Sox hats, jackets, sweatshirts, even jewelry that crowd the streets day and night. And in this current basketball season, you can also see massive Boston Celtics banners lashed to the fronts of buildings--including the State Capitol.
We packed a lot into three days, my daughter and I. We talked, walked, laughed, ate, drank, and wrote a continuing chapter of our own family history. For nearly 30 years, my mother has been flying West each year to visit me in California. Now I'll be flying East to visit my daughter, for however long she lives there.
The Freedom Trail is linear and marked by a red path to guide you along the way, but the Family Trail turns in the circle of love that needs no direction.
